
My mother is dying in a Brazilian favela
Donation protected
Hello. My name is Claudia Amaral and I’m organizing this fundraiser for my mother, Celida.
Celida is 74 and lives with my sister in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. But their lives are hardly what you might envision Rio to be. Far from the glamor and glitz of Copacabana and Ipanema, my family must endure life in a favela, a vast slum on the outskirts of the city that is plagued by squalor and violence. There, police and narcos battle each other with guns and blood.
It’s a place where drug traffickers control people – where they can go, who they can speak to. There are no city services and the risks are so high that no ambulances, taxis, Ubers or even the mail carriers are willing to drive there.
It’s a place where uncertainty and fear have become unwelcome companions, a place where the innocent, including many children, die needlessly in the crossfire.
I did not know my mother was living in a favela until I saw her last year. She could no longer afford to pay the rent on her Rio apartment and was forced to move. She was ashamed and never mentioned it on the phone. I was shocked to see her living conditions.
My sister has been helping to support our mom, but she recently lost her job and can no longer help as she had before. My wife and I help with my mother’s monthly expenses, but it is no longer enough to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living and basic medical care in Brazil. My mother’s health is rapidly deteriorating.
On top of everything, we have discovered that the walls and ceilings of my mother’s house are covered in mold. It has also damaged all the furniture and appliances and my mother and sister were forced to put all their possessions in trash bags to protect them. You can see the mold in the photos I posted.
This is all so distressing to me. The mold is adding to my mother’s ill health, so badly that she can no longer get around or go to see her doctors. She can no longer traverse the steep stairs that lead to her house; she fell once and did damage to both knees. She has emphysema and the constant exposure to the mold has exacerbated it. She has trouble breathing. Even taking a shower has become challenging – the bathroom is covered in mold and water in the favela is often scarce.
My mother has always been so kind and loving to others. Even now, with all her problems, she thinks first of others. My mother has never complained. She survived cancer and other illnesses. One time, she fell and broke her arm and lay for hours on the floor until someone finally found her and took her to the emergency room.
I would like to move my mother to a safer, cleaner place. I hope to do so with your help.
Our goal is to raise US $50,000 with this fundraiser in order to purchase a more easily accessible apartment in a safer place for her to move to as soon as possible.
Celida’s medical care needs are many, but with your contributions to the apartment purchase, my wife and I will be able to continue to support her medical and other needs more easily.
Won’t you please help me save my mother’s life?
It’s so difficult for me to ask for help but I cannot stand to see my mother wither away. Any and all donations will be truly appreciated, no matter how small.
Thank you so much for reading and helping. We know everyone has their own challenges in this life. We would also appreciate it very much if you could share her story across your social media channels so that we can reach more caring hearts.
I wish you all love and happiness. So does Celida.
Claudia Amaral
Organizer
Claudia Cristina Costa do Amaral
Organizer
Tucson, AZ